Flash Journalism: How to Create Multimedia News Packages [Paperback]

Mindy McAdams (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240806972 | ISBN-13: 978-0240806976 | Publication Date: April 21, 2005 | Edition: 1

This book will assist journalists and Flash developers who are working together to bring video, audio, still photos, and animated graphics together into one complete Web-based package.

This book is not just another Flash book because it focuses on the need of journalists to tell an accurate story and provide accurate graphics. This book will illustrate how to animate graphics such as maps, illustrations, and diagrams using Flash. It will show journalists how to integrate high-quality photos and audio interviews into a complete news package for the Web.

Each lesson in the book is followed by a learning summary so that journalists can review the skills they have acquired along the way. In addition, the book's six case studies will allow readers to study the characteristics of news packages created with Flash by journalists and Web developers at The Washington Post, MSNBC.com, and Canadian and European news organizations.

* Perfect for photojournalists who want to create or produce online slide shows with audio.
* A list of keyboard shortcuts for Flash will be included as an appendix.
* Lessons, not reference. This accessible approach for learning Flash MX 2004 illustrates its concepts with concrete examples that make sense.
* Full Color!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you are an online editor, photojournalist or journalist, this is a resource that will hone your skills in this increasingly important area of journalism." - Writing magazine

Book Description

Learn how to create a complete journalistic Web-based package that looks great, engages your audience, provides information, and conveys its story using Flash.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (April 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240806972
• ISBN-13: 978-0240806976
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a book to learn how to do a multimedia piece right!, June 3, 2005

By 

roanoke photog - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flash Journalism: How to Create Multimedia News Packages (Paperback)

Finally a flash book that does not just show you how to make a ball bounce across a stage!

This is the book I recommend to aspiring multimedia journalists.

If you are a journalist who wants to go toward the online realm this is the book to buy, read and learn from -- I have always sent folks to Mindy McAdams' web site in the past -- now this new book she has done is even better.

Seth M. Gitner
Multimedia Editor
(...)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 85% of perfect, May 16, 2006

By 

Robert Strong "photojournalist" (Key West, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flash Journalism: How to Create Multimedia News Packages (Paperback)

Very clearly explained for people who have no experience in flash. However, it didn't get me all the way to where I wanted to be. I wanted to produce an audio slide show that featured a) faded transitions, b) synchronization to the audio track, c) seamless loading on the user's end, and d) dynamically loaded content for ease of re-use. Although the book teaches a, b, c and d individually, it never puts them all together; the "final project" doesn't incorporate syncronization or seamless loading, and the audio-sync slide show it teaches doesn't have dynamic content or faded transitions. However, I feel well equipped to pick up a more thorough flash book to take me the rest of the way, and I'm glad I started with this one (a more general starter book would likely have covered topics of no use to me, like advanced animation et cetera).

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book. Focused and complete., September 18, 2005

By 

Wayfun - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flash Journalism: How to Create Multimedia News Packages (Paperback)

This book is excellent. It has a mission and it executes it well. Its mission is to teach people to use Flash to communicate their ideas through images, words, and if necessary, sound. The book is structured with an introduction to communicating effectively followed by 10 progressive lessons for using Flash to accomplish the stated mission. The 3rd part of the book presents 6 case studies, real live examples of Flash in action. These case studies discuss the issue at hand, the approach that the designers, producers, and developers took to solve their problem, plus a technical tip that we all encounter when building Flash applications. An Appendix is included with additional information, such as preloaders, swf management, and video. The companion website takes this book from 5 stars to 10 stars. This is one of the best technical books I have ever read. It never looses sight of its mission. It marries technical technique to a functional objective.